DUBUQUE – Matt Lassen has spent most of his junior season in either a hospital bed or his house.

Yet, through all of the trials and tribulations the Linn-Mar basketball standout endured, there he was on the free-throw line Thursday, icing another Mississippi Division title for the Lions.

Lassen sank 10 free throws in the final minute to help No. 6 Linn-Mar hold off Dubuque Wahlert in a thriller, 94-88, and clinch the division crown outright.

Lassen also hit five 3-pointers to score 30 points off the bench for the Lions (17-4, 13-3), who won a MVC division title for the eighth time in the past nine seasons.

It’s been a long road back for Lassen, who suffered a severe concussion in December and missed two months of the season. Lassen thought he would never return to the court, but he came back last week and has contributed in a big way.

Lassen also hit five treys in the Lions’ rout of Jefferson on Tuesday.

“It felt great,” Lassen said. “To think about all of the things I’ve gone through this year...I started working back, and I started feeling really good. It really did hit me (Thursday) that I’m back to 100 percent.”

Linn-Mar coach Chris Robertson was impressed with Lassen’s late-game touch considering his lack of practice time at the free-throw line.

“He’s been in a nice rhythm shooting the ball the past couple of games,” Robertson said. “It’s tough. You know you are going to have to get two at the free-throw line after they go down and shoot threes.”

Marcus Paige paced the Lions with 38 points, and his step-back 3-pointer gave them a 79-75 lead with 2:01 left. Jimmy Roth added a 3-pointer on the next possession, as Linn-Mar finished the game with 12 3-pointers.

Linn-Mar finished the first half on an 11-2 run to take a 45-32 halftime lead. Wahlert (9-11, 9-7) stormed back with a 28-point third quarter, enabling it to pull to a 64-all tie with six minutes remaining.

In the end, it was Paige’s 11 fourth-quarter points and the Lions’ proficiency at the free-throw line that sealed the title.

“(The conference title) was one of our goals at the beginning of the season,” Robertson said. “We know how good our league is, and we take a conference championship very seriously.”

Paige said the team has played with a chip on its shoulder during the season. The Lions started 0-2 to start the conference season, and the team believed they had been counted out.

“A lot of people didn’t believe we had a chance to compete at the top,” Paige said. “To come back and being one of the top teams in our conference is great.

“People compare us to last year’s team, and people say this isn’t a typical Linn-Mar team. That makes us want to prove them wrong.”

Linn-Mar will receive a bye in the first round of the substate playoffs. The Lions will play the winner of Iowa City High and Cedar Rapids Prairie next Friday at Linn-Mar High School.

LINN-MAR (94): Zach Martins 2 0-0 5, Marcus Paige 16 2-3 38, Jimmy Roth 3 0-0 8, Andy Henry 0 2-4 2, Derik Gogg 5 1-2 11, Jon Schlotterback 0 0-0 0, Matt Meier 0 0-0 0, Matt Lassen 7 11-12 30. Totals 33 16-21 94.

WAHLERT (88): Riley McCarron 6 9-9 23, Brady Williams 1 0-0 2, Jake May 9 4-6 26, Nate Burks 9 13-14 33, John Burgmeier 0 2-2 2, Josh Tranel 0 0-0 0, Chad Heidesch 0 0-0 0, Sam Koenig 0 0-0 0, Nick Nemmers 1 0-0 2, Connor Krueger 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 28-31 88.

Halftime – Linn-Mar 45, Wahlert 32. 3-point goals – L-M 12 (Martins, Paige 4, Roth 2, Lassen 5), Wahlert 8 (McCarron 2, May 4, Burks 2). Total fouls – L-M 20, Wahlert 19. Fouled out – Henry, McCarron.